JPH0936792A - Satellite communication equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To direct an antenna toward a communication satellite and catch it. SOLUTION: The equipment is provided with a GPS receiver 6 receiving a signal sent from a GPS satellite to obtain position information (latitude and longitude) at an operating position of the satellite communication equipment required to control an antenna 1. Then a gyro compass 7 is used to detect the azimuth at the operating position of the satellite communication equipment.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable satellite communication device deployed and used outdoors.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a conventional satellite communication device. In the figure, 1 is an antenna for transmitting and receiving radio waves with a communication satellite that relays communication, and 2 is a modulator / demodulator for modulating and demodulating voice and data transmitted and received by the antenna 1. 3 is a magnetic azimuth meter that measures the azimuth at the operating position of the satellite communication device based on geomagnetism, 4 is an inclinometer that detects the tilt angle during operation of the satellite communication device, and 5 is the inclinometer of the satellite communication device. The azimuth angle and elevation angle of the satellite pointing direction are obtained based on the position information of the operating position, and the antenna is used by using the information of the reference azimuth at the operating position obtained by the magnetic azimuth meter 3 and the inclination angle information from the inclinometer 4. 1 is an antenna control unit for controlling 1 in the satellite pointing direction. The conventional satellite communication device includes the antenna 1, the modulator / demodulator 2, the magnetic azimuth meter 3, the inclinometer 4, and the antenna controller 5.

Next, the operation will be described. In a conventional satellite communication device deployed and used outdoors, for example, a satellite communication device such as an on-vehicle station for a private broadcast station, a system using a magnetic azimuth meter 3 as shown in FIG. 4 is generally adopted.
In such a satellite communication device, the operator first obtains the position information of the operating position of the satellite communication device, that is, the latitude and longitude of the operating position by map information or the like, and manually operates those data on the antenna controller 5. Enter with to set. The antenna control unit 5 calculates the azimuth angle and elevation angle of the satellite pointing direction of the communication satellite according to the input position information of the operating position, and further serves as a reference at the operating position detected by the magnetic azimuth meter 3. Based on the azimuth information and the tilt angle information detected by the inclinometer 4 when the satellite communication device is in operation, the antenna 1 is controlled in the satellite pointing direction to capture the communication satellite. When a communication satellite is captured, voice and data are modulated / demodulated by the modulation / demodulation unit 2 and transmitted / received to / from the partner satellite communication device via the captured communication satellite.

[0004]

Since the conventional satellite communication device deployed and used in the field is constructed as described above, the position information (latitude and lightness) of the operating position is obtained from map information or the like, Since it is necessary for the operator to input it manually, and because the measurement of the azimuth is easily affected by the geomagnetism around the deployment site, the antenna 1 should be accurately pointed in the direction of the communication satellite and captured. There was a problem that it was difficult. It is also possible to find the satellite direction from the received signal from the communication satellite by using a spectrum analyzer or the like in the satellite communication device to perform satellite acquisition, but this has a problem that it takes a long time for initial acquisition.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and provides a satellite communication device capable of capturing a communication satellite in a short time without being affected by geomagnetism or the like around the deployment site. The purpose is to get.

[0006]

A satellite communication device according to the invention of claim 1 receives a signal transmitted from a global positioning system (hereinafter referred to as GPS) satellite and is required for controlling an antenna. G that automatically acquires the position information (latitude and longitude) of the operating position of the satellite communication device
A PS receiver is provided, and a gyro compass is used as an azimuth detector that detects a reference azimuth at the operating position of the satellite communication device.

In the satellite communication device according to the invention of claim 2, the power source thereof is obtained from a solar cell.

In the satellite communication device according to the third aspect of the present invention, the level of the received signal from the communication satellite is displayed by the meter display by the level meter.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiment 1. Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
1 is a block diagram showing a satellite communication device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is an antenna, 2 is a modulation / demodulation unit, 4 is an inclinometer, 5 is an antenna control unit, and these are the same as or equivalent to those shown with the same reference numerals in FIG. Detailed description is omitted. 6 is G
Signals transmitted from PS satellites are received by a GPS antenna that has a built-in GPS antenna, and position information such as latitude and longitude of the operating position of the satellite communication device necessary for controlling the antenna 1 for communication is acquired, and the antenna information is used. G automatically set in the control unit 5
Reference numeral 7 denotes a PS receiver, which detects a reference azimuth such as which direction the north is in the operating position of the satellite communication device without being affected by the geomagnetism, and the obtained azimuth information is controlled by an antenna. It is a gyro compass input to the part 5. The satellite communication device according to the first embodiment includes the antenna 1, the modulator / demodulator 2, the inclinometer 4, the antenna controller 5, the GPS receiver 6, and the gyro / compass 7, and the GPS receiver 6 is newly added. This is different from the conventional satellite communication device shown in FIG. 4 in that a gyro compass 7 is used instead of the magnetic azimuth meter 3 as a mounting and azimuth detector.

Next, the operation will be described. The GPS receiver 6 has a built-in GPS antenna in addition to the antenna 1 for communication of the satellite communication device, receives a signal transmitted from a GPS satellite by the GPS antenna 6, and receives position information (latitude) of the operating position of the satellite communication device. And longitude) are acquired and set in the antenna control unit 5. This eliminates the need to manually obtain the latitude / longitude information of the operating position from the map information and input it manually as in the conventional satellite communication device, and one piece of the operating position information is automatically set in the antenna controller 5. To be done. Based on the position information of the operating position from the GPS receiver 6, the antenna control unit 5 directs the antenna 1 for communication in the direction of the communication satellite to be communicated.
Z) and elevation (EL) are calculated. Next, the antenna control unit 5 controls the azimuth direction of the antenna 1 based on the calculated azimuth angle (AZ) and information on the reference azimuth detected by the gyro-compass 7, and further calculates the calculated elevation angle. The elevation angle direction of the antenna 1 is controlled based on (EL) and the tilt angle information detected by the inclinometer 4, and the antenna 1 is directed toward the communication satellite. The azimuth detection by the gyro compass 7 is extremely accurate because it is not affected by the geomagnetism around the operating position.

As described above, the GPS receiver 6 automatically sets the position information (latitude and longitude) in the antenna control section 5 without any manual input operation, and the position information becomes extremely accurate. By using the gyro-compass 7, the azimuth angle in the satellite direction can be accurately pointed without being affected by the geomagnetism around the operating position, as compared with the conventional case using the magnetic azimuth meter. Therefore, it is possible to automatically and reliably capture the communication satellite in a short time.

The portable GPS receiver used in the first embodiment is publicly known and is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-1.
It is also described in detail in Japanese Patent No. 42327.

Embodiment 2 FIG. FIG. 2 is a second embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a configuration diagram showing a satellite communication device according to FIG. 1, and corresponding portions are assigned the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 and their description is omitted. In the figure, 8 is a solar cell that supplies power to each part of the satellite communication device. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the primary battery, the secondary battery, or the battery is not used as a power source, and instead of these, the solar cell 8 is used to supply power. There is. By being attached to the surface of the satellite communication device, the solar cell 8 converts the incident light energy into electric energy and supplies power to the respective parts constituting the satellite communication device. With such a configuration, it is possible to achieve a significant weight reduction compared to a satellite communication device that uses a primary battery, a secondary battery, a battery, etc. as its power source, and to replace or charge the battery. It is also free from the hassle.

Embodiment 3 FIG. FIG. 3 is a third embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a configuration diagram showing a satellite communication device according to FIG. 1, and corresponding portions are assigned the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 and their description is omitted. In the figure, 9 is a level meter for displaying the received signal level from the communication satellite by a meter. The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the liquid crystal display device is not used for displaying the level of the received signal from the communication satellite, and the level meter 9 having lower power consumption is used instead of the liquid crystal display device. Are different. In other words, when the position display result and the satellite capture result are displayed by the level display circuit using a liquid crystal display device or the like, the power consumption is large, and the battery is consumed so much that the battery must be replaced or charged frequently. However, if the received signal from the communication satellite is displayed on the monitor using the level meter 9 as described above, the power consumption can be suppressed as much as possible and the battery can be used for a long time.

[0015]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the position information of the operating position necessary for controlling the antenna is G
Since the gyro and compass detect the direction information at the operating position acquired by the PS receiver, the position information (latitude and longitude) can be obtained accurately from the map information without manually inputting the position information. Can be set automatically, and the azimuth information is accurately detected without being affected by the geomagnetism around the operating position.
There is an effect that a satellite communication device capable of automatically and reliably capturing a communication satellite in a short time can be obtained.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since power is supplied to each part of the satellite communication device by a solar cell, the device can be made lighter, and the battery can be replaced or charged. There is an effect that unnecessary work such as is unnecessary.

According to the third aspect of the invention, since the level of the received signal from the communication satellite is displayed by the level meter, the power consumed by the level display is reduced and the battery is used for a long time. As a result, it is possible to reduce troublesome work such as battery replacement and charging.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a satellite communication device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a satellite communication device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a satellite communication device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a conventional satellite communication device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 antenna, 2 modulation / demodulation section, 3 magnetic azimuth meter, 4 inclinometer, 5 antenna control section, 6 GPS receiver (global positioning system receiver), 7 gyro
Compass, 8 solar cells, 9 level meters.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An antenna for transmitting and receiving radio waves to and from a communication satellite, a modulator / demodulator for modulating and demodulating radio waves transmitted and received by the antenna, and an azimuth and an elevation angle in a satellite pointing direction with respect to the communication satellite. , In a satellite communication device comprising an antenna control unit for controlling the antenna in the satellite pointing direction based on these, position information of the operating position of the satellite communication device necessary for controlling the antenna in the antenna control unit, , A Global Positioning System receiver that receives a signal transmitted from a Global Positioning System satellite to perform positioning, and obtains information on a reference azimuth at the operating position from a gyro compass. Satellite communication equipment. 2. The satellite communication device according to claim 1, wherein a solar cell is used as a power source. 3. The received signal level from the communication satellite is
The satellite communication device according to claim 1, wherein the level is displayed using a level meter.